


Him, Next Door

by carpetburnz



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: AU, Bakery and Coffee Shop, Fluff, M/M, Shameless Smut, gimme that, klance, lance is lowkey confused, probably, tattooist keith
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-21
Updated: 2018-03-05
Packaged: 2019-03-07 17:02:13
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,349
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13439268
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/carpetburnz/pseuds/carpetburnz
Summary: Lance McClain works as a waiter slash wannabe baker at the Blue Lion Bakery Cafe, a small and cozy but popular cafe.Keith Kogane is a new tattoo artist who has recently been employed at Red's Tattoo Studio.The VLD Mall is large and spacious, home to many cafes, salons, and retail outlets, but it just so happens that the Blue Lion Bakery and Cafe and Red's are next door neighbours.And so, there it begins, with him, right next door.





	1. 00 - (Hopefully) Soon To Come

 

Lance didn't typically stare at people from a distance - not really. Then again, he hadn't really ever had to before. 

Staring wasn't his thing, but he was interested in  _knowing_. If someone was worth staring at, then they were most definitely worth getting to know, and staring wasn't at all going to help him achieve that goal. So, striking up conversation was easy for Lance to accomplish; after all, he worked at the mall's most popular cafe where plenty of attractive young women came to sit and drink or eat after a long day of shopping around. 

 

So, no. Staring at people was most definitely not Lance's thing. He preferred conversation, and conversation would always top staring if he had a say about it. 

 

Or at least, that was until he saw  _him_. Him, next door. 

A black-haired boy wearing all back and red, his pale skin showing through the frayed rips in his denim jeans. He wore dark polaroids, despite being inside the shopping centre, and carried a tote bag over his left shoulder, the strap adorned with various pins and badges. He hadn't even shot a single look at the bustling Blue Lion Cafe and Bakery as he strode casually into the tattoo studio next door, as if it were something that he did every single day - and trust Lance, he knew for sure that it was something that certainly  _didn't_ happen every day.

 

And Lance didn't know why, but for some reason, he found that the new guy at Red's Tattoo Studio was an exception to his no staring policy. 

Because, no matter how much he so desperately wanted to talk to him, Lance just couldn't get past staring silently from a distance. 

 

For the time being, anyway.

 


	2. Chapter 2

hello thanks for clicking on the fic !!

☆ ☆ ☆

  
not too sure how this is gonna span out yet in terms of adult rating,

but thought it best to note the ages of the "teens" to save my ass in case I decide to sin.

(they're the same ages as in the show)

also a psa that there will be coarse language 

 

_keith - 18_  
_lance - 17_  
_shiro - 25_  
_katie/pidge - 15_  
_hunk - 17_  
_allura - 21 (just a guess -  
__her age isn't actually official yet)_

 

_**ok thanks for reading, please enjoy!!** _

_**- kai** _

（　´∀｀）☆

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

_**"**_ _**You're so gorgeous, I can't say anything to your face.** _

_**And I'm so furious at you for making me feel this way.** _

_**But what can I say? You're gorgeous."** _

 

 

* * *

 

 

__

Cocoa powder coated the tips of Lance's fingers, and he wiped them against his blue apron as he smiled at the young teenage girl as she happily collected her hot chocolate and thanked her grandfather for the drink. It was moments like these that he enjoyed the most - about half an hour after school had ended for the day and students would come in with their parents or grandparents for a sweet drink and a pastry. The vibe in the cafe was calm and high-spirited, and it gave Lance the opportunity to slowly unwind and chat some more with his coworkers. 

"I'll have a hot chocolate, please," Hunk, the Blue Lion cafe's baker, stated, his chin propped atop his fists as he watched Lance through the open space in the wall. 

"Nope," Lance replied, and he popped his chocolatey finger in his mouth with a cheeky grin. "You've had one too many freebies. If the assistant manager found that I gave you  _another_ free drink -"

"Allura doesn't have to know," he insisted, his eyebrows raised in expectation. 

"Allura always knows," Lance deadpanned, and he shrugged his shoulders as he added, "Sorry, dude. It's outta my hands."

A third voice quipped, "Betcha you would've done it for Keith."

Lance's eyes narrowed into thin slits, and he turned slowly on his heel from Hunk to the short high-schooler resting her elbows comfortably on the glass countertop. She was sucking on a lollipop, her eyes gleaming with mischief behind her large spectacles. "What are you doing here?" He questioned, arms folding tightly over his chest as he glared down at the grinning teenager. "Shouldn't you be nerd-ing out at the other end of the mall?"

"I'm not allowed to," she sighed, plucking the lollipop from her mouth with a sharp  _pop_. "Matt's manager said that I can't wait for him to finish work in the store anymore. Apparently I'm a distraction to the customers." 

"Don't believe a word they say, Pidge," Hunk called from his place in the kitchen, leaning out of his little window to try and reach for her hand. Lance rolled his eyes and slapped his arm away from the cash register. "You have a brilliant little mind."

"I know," Pidge agreed, popped the lollipop back in her mouth, and mumbled, "It's a blessing and a curse." She smiled widely, blinked innocently, and asked, "I'd like a hot chocolate, please." 

The breath that left Lance's mouth was loud and heavy, and as he flipped the switch on the milk frother. "This is the last time you get a freebie."

"Hey!" Hunk protested. "Why do Pidge and Keith get free hot chocolates and not me?"

Lance's cheeks reddened. "I don't give Mullet Man free hot chocolates!" 

"I would," Pidge piped, appearing thoughtful as she licked at her slowly disappearing candy. "He seems cool. I like him."

"Yeah," Hunk agreed. "He's kind of like that cool, mysterious stranger that no one knows anything about, but he turns out to be really nice."

Lance blinked as he said, "Okay? Have either one of you actually _met_ him?" Silence ensued, and he nodded his head once as he affirmed, "Just as I thought." Pidge hummed and drummed her short fingernails against the counter, eyeing Lance with silent curiosity as she watched him put together her hot chocolate - two and half tea spoons of sugar, just the way she liked it. "Why do you keep bringing up him, anyway? He's not that great." 

"You get all weird around him," Hunk told him casually, sighing as he watched Pidge sip at her warm drink. "You freeze up and stare at him."

"I do not?" Lance defended, and he shook his head, eyes closed as he said, "He's the weird one. Who does he think he is? Acting all broody and mysterious." 

Pidge's eyebrows rose, and she shared a quick, knowing glance with Hunk before she said, "Anyway. Hunk, can you help me bake a cake for my dad's birthday? He's turning  _old_ -"

"Turning old," Lance interrupted. 

"- So I want him to have something special."

Lance thought that Hunk might actually start crying. "You want me to help bake a cake?" Hunk asked, and he hugged his hands to his chest as if to soothe his heart. "I'll have to work around classes but I'll definitely help!"

"Great! What days do you have off college?"

Lance drifted out of their conversation, just chatter about Hunk's cooking school and if they would be allowed to use the college's kitchen, and Lance allowed his mind to wander to the entrance of Red's tattoo parlour. He didn't typically stare at people from a distance - not really. But then again, he hadn't really ever had to before.  Staring wasn't necessarily Lance's thing, but he was interested in  _knowing_. If someone was worth staring at, then they were most definitely worth getting to know, and staring wasn't at all going to help him achieve that goal. So, striking up conversation was easy for Lance to accomplish; after all, he worked at the mall's most popular cafe where plenty of attractive young women came to sit and drink or eat after a long day of shopping around. So, no. Staring at people was most definitely not Lance's thing. He preferred conversation, and conversation would always top staring if he had a say about it. 

Or at least, that was until he saw  _Keith._

He was a black-haired boy wearing all back and red, his pale skin showing through the frayed rips in his denim jeans. He wore dark polaroids, despite being inside the shopping centre, and carried a tote bag over his left shoulder, the strap adorned with various pins and badges. When he'd first walked in that day, he hadn't even shot a single look at the bustling Blue Lion Cafe and Bakery, and instead strode casually into the tattoo studio next door. It had been like it was something that he had done every day, and trust Lance, he knew for sure that it was something that certainly  _didn't_ happen every day.

And that's when it started - the new guy at Red's Tattoo Studio was an exception to his no staring policy, and Lance didn't know why. Because, no matter how much he so desperately wanted to talk to him, Lance just couldn't get past staring silently from a distance. The first time Keith had come in to the cafe, he had been with a taller male whose arm had been covered in tattoos. Lance hadn't served them - he'd hid out back while Allura took over and had stared at her as she wrote, dark blue ink on the white take-away cup. 

**_Keith._**  

Lance didn't know what the problem was, he loved making new friends. He was charismatic by nature and always enjoyed chatting and joking around with friends or strangers, it didn't matter much to him at all. "Probably the mullet," he murmured to himself, eyes fixed on nothing as he lost himself in his daydreams. 

"Pardon?"

Lance blinked, for Pidge had long since disappeared from the counter in front of him and someone else had replaced her space. He shook his head, smiled warmly, and apologised, "Sorry! Day-dreaming, what can I get for you -" He choked on his words, his treacherous voice cracking with nerves as his breath caught on the back of his tongue. 

His eyes looked like a cloudy sky - blue and grey at the same time, and they were oh so soft as he stared at Lance in confusion. Keith's hair was tied at the nape of his neck with a black band that was lost in the darkness of his hair, and he had his polaroid sunglasses pushed atop his head. His tote bag was over his shoulder, and up close, Lance could make out some of the small pins. A cartoon lion, an enamel rainbow, a blue cactus, and an ice-cream cone that read  _'ALIENS ARE FUCKING REAL.'_ Lance thought that Pidge would probably adore the last one. 

"Can I get a mocha and an Americano?" He asked as he dug his wallet out from his tote. "To go, please," Keith added. 

"R-right," Lance finally swallowed, shaking his head at his own unnatural behaviours. He hardly met Keith's eyes as he got to work with making the coffees, though he glanced up once to find the black-haired boy texting on his phone.

"Allura's not here, today?"

Lance looked up, eyebrows raised high as he stared. Oh, so now Mullet Man was on a first name basis with Allura - the girl he'd been crushing on ever since he started working at the cafe.  _What's it to you,_ Lance wanted to say, but figured that might not be the best way to talk to his customers. Slowly, careful not to sound defensive and more casual, Lance asked, "You know Allura?" 

"Yeah," Keith answered, but he hadn't looked up from the screen of his phone. "We've caught up a couple times."

"She's not in today," he answered nonchalantly and pushed the two drinks across the counter. "That's seven eighty."

Keith traded over a ten dollar bill as he said, "That's a shame." He juggled the two cups into the palm of his left hand, holding them securely between his slender fingers and his stomach. "Keep the change," he added, and left the Blue Lion Cafe, his head still tilted downwards as he messaged on his mobile phone. 

Lance's eyes narrowed and he folded his arms over his chest. 

"Who knew that they'd know each other outside of the mall?" Hunk asked curiously, and Lance heard the familiar rattle of the dishwasher closing somewhere in the kitchen. Closing time was approaching.

"Why does he know Allura and not me?" Lance exclaimed, eyebrows furrowed. It was no secret that Lance liked being the centre of attention. As a matter of fact, he was one of the (if not the most) popular and liked workers at the Blue Lion Cafe and Bakery, and the fact that Keith had already met and spent time with Allura outside of the cafe was beginning to grate on him. "That's the first time that Mullet Head has spoken to me ever since he started working here."

"Well, in his defence, you have gone out of your way to avoid him," Hunk admitted. 

"Am I or am I not the mascot of the Blue Lion Cafe and Bakery?"

"Actually, the mascot is a blue lion -"

"Who does he think he is?" Lance prattled on, too deep in his own ego to even acknowledge what Hunk had been saying. "That jerk."

"Lance," Hunk sighed. 

"My name badge even says _sharpshooter_ and he doesn't bother to ask why. Everyone asks why!"

"Lance!" Hunk said again, louder this time that Lance even jolted slightly. "If you're so bothered, why don't you just talk to him?"

_Because I can't_ , he wanted to say.  _Because I feel all weird around him._  

"No, no, no, no," he chastised, voice cool and smooth as if he didn't have a worry in the world. "If I talk to him first, then he has the upper-hand."

Hunk frowned in confusion. "What?"

"I'm not breaking first!" Lance stated with a firm nod. "He talks to me, or we don't talk at all."

Hunk stared for several seconds, unblinking and seemingly incredulous to the situation (not that Lance took note of, of course), and finally shook his head and continued about his own work, helping the other cooks clean the kitchen.

With a keen glint in his eye, Lance looked over as Keith casually and obliviously walked in Red's tattoo parlour, and said, "Game on, Mullet."

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (we all know that lance would absolutely fail the ignoring game tho lmao)
> 
> hello hello !! ☆ ☆
> 
> thank you sm for giving the fic a chance, I really do hope that you enjoy reading it!   
> more to come soon ~~☆


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